Benchmarking of beach destinations in Yevpatoriya

The article describes a qualitative approach in benchmarking of beach destinations in the development of Yevpatoria as a leading resort of beach tourism in the Republic of Crimea. However, restoring the former glory of the Yevpatoria beaches still requires considerable effort. The subject of the study is the beach destinations of Yevpatoria, the potential of their development in the context of implementing the strategic directions identified on the basis of benchmarking. This study is aimed at comparing the beach destinations of Yevpatoria with the best practices of the Republic of Crimea and individual subjects of the southern Federal regions in managing resort destination. The qualitative approach is adopted in the analysis of best practices in other similar destinations of Krasnodar Krai. The hypothesis of the study is that the use of benchmarking as a process of determining the highest quality standards for products, services or processes, and then making the improvements necessary to achieve these standards (commonly referred to as" best practices") are able to form strategic directions for the development of beach destinations in Yevpatoria. The author present the results of comparative analysis carried out for the implementation and adaptation of some best practices in other places of beach tourism in the Republic of Crimea and in neighboring southern regions. The article uses the experience of the beaches of Anapa and Sochi beach for local benchmarking, and the experience of the beach resort of Alushta and Yalta for regional benchmarking. These destinations were chosen for comparison, as the effective management of the beach has led to the fact that the southern coast of Crimea as a beach destination is well developed. A similar scenario is suitable for beach destinations in Yevpatoria. Tourism development is based on the argument that tourism has multiple impacts, i.e. economic impacts, sociocultural impacts and environmental impacts. The success of tourism development and its implications in the destination depend on the understanding of the stakeholders. Thus, this study was aimed at highlighting stakeholders' perception of the image of Yevpatoria as a beach resort and the impact of tourism development in Yevpatoria by conducting interviews with stakeholders and residents. The results of the study are used to develop recommendations that can increase the potential of beach destinations of Yevpatoria as a leading beach resort of domestic tourism of the Russian Federation. Research work applied AAAAA191190123900789 "Development of the Concept of development of coastal destinations in the Republic of Crimea until 2030".